Aunt Kelly and Uncle Tom

Tom, my sister Kelly's husband, flew out to Dallas for a short 12 hour visit last night. We were all so happy to see family. He is our first official family visitor. (Mark's parents helped us drive out here when we moved and they saw our house, but our truck load of things hadn't even arrived yet, so none of our things were in the house. Then they had to leave right away to catch a flight back to Utah.) Even though Tom's was a short stay, we were so glad he was able to spend some time here! The boys absolutely LOVE him! He taught them all sorts of things he shouldn't have...like how to grab 20 mints on the way INTO the restaurant just so you can grab MORE on your way OUT! And how to throw things over our balcony hallway to the open living room below. He even challenged Caden at one point to climb across the top of our double mantel fireplace...keep in mind that is about 15 feet off the ground! Ha, ha, ha! Of course it didn't happen...but all a young boy needs is to have ideas like that planted in their heads...especially Jackson. That kid thinks he's invincible! Yes, my boys loved him, cause they got away with things they never would have gotten away with otherwise. I told Tom that I was almost relieved that it was only going to be 12 hours that he would be influencing my usually mild mannered children. I was joking of course, I hope you know that, Tom! We really enjoyed having you here.

Then of course there is Kelly. Beautiful, sweet, wonderful, thoughtful Kelly. Who wouldn't let Tom leave without gifts for my kids. They are awesome! Everyone of them was a hit with my boys and they were very happy and grateful to receive them. Thanks, Kelly! You are an incredible sister to me and and awesome "Auntie" to my boys!

Hopefully, Kelly's entire family can come for a visit some time soon. We'd love to have you here!

Jackson LOVED his "Toy Story" and "Monster's Inc." cars. He carried them around for the rest of the night!

Jace slept with his Pokemon cards under his pillow.

He was so happy that Aunt Kelly got them for him.

Caden, Uncle Tom and Jace proudly displaying Caden's new Yugi-Oh cards!

Jace and Uncle Tom

Jackson laughed at Tom all night. "He's silly, Mommy!" he kept telling me.

Soccer Season!

It's soccer season again! This is Jace's first year playing. His team is called the Cheetahs. He has been SO excited to start. He loves practicing. Every day he comes home from school and asks if he can put on his "soccer shoes" and practice kicking his ball in the backyard.

Last Saturday was his first game. He did SO GOOD! He got right in there and wasn't afraid to go after the ball! Look at him, right there in the middle, he was so cute!


When he came over to grab a drink from me he said, "Mom! I never got to play a real soccer game before! This is so fun!" It was a great game! The boys play 4 on 4 with no goalie. It's hilarious to watch all the little guys on the field trying to figure out which way to kick the ball and trying so hard to follow their coaches directions!

It gets so hot here! Add the humidity to that and it's almost unbearable to sit and watch from the sidelines, I couldn't imagine running up and down the field for 60 minutes in this weather, but he never wanted to stop! The team rotates players for water breaks every 5 minutes so they don't get dehydrated and there were a couple of times that he grabbed a drink and ended up right back on the field! That's my boy! I hope he loves the last game of the season as much as loved his first game this season!

Pictures!!

Jackson, finding a way to ease the pain of missing his brothers!

As you can see, he has taken over Jace's gameboy! Caden's first day in 4th Grade. He is so excited and he is going to have a GREAT year!
Jace's first day in Kindergarten. He is just so happy to be here!!!

The First Day of School

So, all summer we have been preparing for this day! My 4th grader kept telling me, "Mom, I know you are going to cry." My reply was always, "No tears from me!" So this morning I walked Caden to his class, waved goodbye with a big smile on my face and walked down the hall with my kindergartner. As we were walking it hit me that I was leaving my baby in the hands of complete strangers!!! I dropped him off at his class, the tears just started to flow! Seriously - I cried like a little girl!! I was so mad at myself for crying. Jace just looked at me like I was nuts! He is so ready to for school and he's been so excited about it I know he'll do just great! I talked to his teacher and she assured me that he would be okay - I KNEW he would be, I was just a little more emotional than I expected!

So I got home and my husband gave me a look that let me know he was holding back from making fun of me! But being the perfect husband that he is and KNOWING his boundaries just said, "He's gonna be just fine."

Then there is my youngest who now has to adjust to life without his big brothers. I think it will be hard for him at first, but I'm sure he'll find a way to pass the time! He'll be busy with pre-school and all his friends that come to daycare. Oh, and of course you can't forget the Gameboy! That will certainly ease his pain!